Fraud and Chargebacks
Criminals are constantly finding ways of defrauding unsuspecting cardholders and merchants, so we work hard to keep merchants informed about trends in fraud. Our authorisation centre has special processes in place to protect merchants from fraud and can help you when you need to check or report a suspicious transaction.
What are chargebacks
Chargebacks are a demand by an issuing bank/cardholder’s bank against a merchant to make good the loss on a fraudulent or disputed transaction. This means that the merchant’s account will be debited with the same amount that was originally credited from the client’s account. Besides fraud, chargebacks can occur due to processing errors, authorisation issues and the non-fulfilment of copy requests.
For merchants, chargebacks can be inconvenient, time-consuming and costly as you can lose both the Rand value of the transaction and the related goods or services. By understanding and adhering to the rules and regulations of your Merchant Agreement, you can protect yourself and your business against chargebacks. Practical tips include the following:
- Avoid risky transactions, like manual transactions, voice authorisations and fallback transactions
- Avoid swiping chip-enabled cards and rather process them correctly to require the PIN
- Follow the instructions printed at the bottom of the slip (merchant copy)
- Get a card imprint as proof that the card was presented if you effect a manual transaction
- Phone for an authorisation number when prompted to do so and personally speak to the authorisation centre staff
- Do not be tempted to complete a transaction if the authorisation is declined
- Do not use your own credit card to process any transaction
- Keep legible copies of all sales vouchers in a safe place for at least six months
- Call for a ‘Code 10’ authorisation if you are in any way suspicious about a card or the person presenting the card and follow the call centre agent’s instructions